Greener Grass

When I was a kid, one of my Mom's favorite sayings was "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."  Meaning when we are having troubles, everyone else's life always looks so much better than ours.  Now grown, actually it is greener on the other side of the fence - my neighbor waters their grass all summer - so when my grass is brown and crunchy - their is lush and beautiful - but at what price - see I live in the city and  have city water - so we pay for every drop that comes out of our spicket.  I'll water my flower pots, but we let the grass go - it will rain, eventually, and then it will be green again, and my husband will have to start mowing again.  I've thought about getting a rain barrel to capture rain water for my flowers -- but that's a whole other topic for another blog post on our responsibility to care for God's creation.  Let's get back to the grass is greener thought.

This past weekend's Gospel (John 6:60-69) we hear Jesus ask Peter if he was going to leave too - Peter's response is perfect "Master, to who shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  Being Christians is not always easy - we hear the Gospels challenging us to work to live better lives, to love those who hate us, and to give without expecting return.  But as Peter - who would we go to but Christ.

Well, this has had me pondering this week --- what is the difference of "life with Christ" and "life without Christ."  I know my life with Christ has not always been a cake walk - there is not some prayer which makes all my troubles go "Poof" and disappear from my life.  But I look to some of my family members who do not believe in God - and think about what does their lives look like?

Those who are without faith seem to live for the here and now -- and for themselves.  They may have successful work and may seem to skate through life.  But we don't truly know what is lying underneath and at what price does this life style come with.

Ok, this lead to another thought to ponder (I know, I move from one thought to another - but hang with me - I have a point.) I began to think about how wonderful other people's lives look like (greener grass.)  It can be very easy to laps into the lifestyle society has laid out before us.  When I was a young bride - my new husband was not Catholic and though he was a believer, he was not interested in attending weekly Church.  I found it hard every Sunday to get up and go to Mass by myself - and found I was looking for excuses to not go.  I was only thinking of me - my needs. Eventually,  I was able to break that cycle by volunteering for things with the Church - it helped me to give service but also make a support system so that even though I was driving to Mass on my own, once inside I had a family in faith there ready to greet me.  I also found new strength in attending weekly which gave me the courage to live a life of Christ.  This is why when I'm asked about the need to attend weekly Mass - my answer is that it is important - it renews our faith - it feeds our souls - and it prepares us for the week ahead.  And the big answer - Mass is not about us - it is about praise the Father and thanking him for all the blessings he has given us.  This is an important point I think many of us sometimes forget.

So, I reason the big question for our lives is - not green grass or brown crunchy grass but whether we we choose death or eternal life.  I'm sure you can guess my answer.

What's Sitting on my Reading Table

I just love to read - to find a quiet place in my home and curl up with a good book in my opinion is an excellent way to spend time.  Some of the books I read are just for fun (I love cozy mysteries) and others speak to my soul. Right now I am reading one of those "speaks to my soul" books.  While I was on retreat, I found this book in the gift shop.

It is "Clare of Assisi" by Illa Delio.  What a wonderful gem!  Honestly, I did not know anything about St. Clare other than that she was with St. Francis.  This book takes us on her journey to God.  She has outlined four parts of her path - the first is the Gaze, second Consider, third Contemplate and then finally desire to imitate Jesus.

I am in awe of this women!  Here we have someone who did not have a high education, and yet she has developed a philosophy of Love that can change each and everyone of us.

I will just share her first part of her path - Gaze Upon Him.  At first I was not sure what she meant - but the more I read, the more I came into an understanding.  As we look upon the Crucified Christ - we should see the Crucifix as a mirror which reflects ourselves back to us.  For in the cross we should find what we need for life and what we should become - love, compassion, obedience to name just a few.  Christ did not "have to" go to his death on the cross - he did it for the love of us and the love of the Father.  He demonstrates such compassion for us - even if we do not know we need it - there is Mercy on that Cross! And obedience - again - Jesus just need to say one word and the Angels would have descended from Heaven to rescue him.  But Jesus was obedient to the Father - he chose to follow God's Will and not his own.  Can we say the same about us?  I know this part of the path alone will be a life long journey for me.

I will admit the introduction and first chapter was a challenge to read - I'm wondering if now that I have almost finished reading the book, it might be good to go back over those two section.  But as I read more, the more I was drawn in.  My highlighter was flying.

I found it on Amazon: Clare of Assisi A Heart Full of Love

I am sure you can also ask your local Catholic Book shop, if they do not have it in stock, to order it for you.

I give it two thumbs up!

My Great Escape!

The phone is ringing, the TV blaring, my "To Do" list seems to grow more than I cross off, meals to cook, laundry to do, and I do not understand how two cats can leave this much hair on the floor and not be naked!

Calgon - Take me away!!

Better yet -- Lord take me away!

I have found every year I need a break from the world and time with the Lord to refresh my soul.

This past weekend I enjoyed my annual retreat.  Several years ago I found the Hermitages with the Franciscan Sisters of Sylvania Ohio. The Hermitage consist of a one room cabin with a bed, recliner, desk and a small kitchenette - plus a bathroom.  There are 2 cabins and they are nestled in a small valley surrounded with trees.  There is no TV, phone, or WiFi.  It is truly a place made for peace and prayer.

The Campus is full of sculpture and fora with wonderful little places to sit and prayer or simply be.  The Sisters have also built a smaller scale replica of the Chapel built by St. Francis in Assisi Italy where the Blessed Sacrament resides in the Tabernacle. 

The beauty of the space is that my retreat time is my own design.  I always come loaded with a tote full of books, not knowing which way the Lord will take me.  My first year I read about St. Monica, other years I have studied Mercy.  Last year I found a book in my stash that I did not know I had, let along remember packing it - and it was just what I needed for the weekend.  This year was no different, but instead of finding something in what I brought with me; I found a book in the gift shop on St. Clare - which took my retreat in a beautiful direction.  I will share more about this book in a later post.

So, why do I find it necessary to go away for a long weekend to pray?  This answer is very simple - Holy Silence.

To be honest, I know I get a little lazy over the year in my prayer life routine.  I allow other things to easily distract me - the bathroom needs cleaning, the cat hair needs vacuuming again, I have planned a lunch with girlfriends.  Here on retreat all those items are removed - your only focus is experiencing God's love.

I always come home with a special peace that words cannot describe and my faith is truly deepened. I absolutely cherish this special time each year.

Now, my question to you --- could your relationship with the Lord benefit from some dedicated "alone time?"  I'm going to assume your answer is "yes."  I found my haven through a "Google" search.  I just searched for "Catholic Retreats near me."  If you want more information on the Hermitages, let me know - I will be thrilled to share.   

Mercy and Keds -- A Great Combination

It is my belief that every woman should have as many purses and shoes she wants -- I have quite a few of both - (husband rolling eyes)  if you asked my husband - he would say I have too many...lol.  Well, I am not talking about those cute high heels - I wore them many years ago, and my feel would protest if I even think about it now.  What I love is my Keds -- I like having several colors and how cute they look with my jeans.  But both of my big toes turn slightly upwards which causes small holes in my Keds by the end of summer, which require new ones every spring (oh what a shame.)  So, here I am in the shoe store salivating at all the different Keds they had.  As I went to reach for a box with my size on it - another customer was doing the same - the same box - I got to it first and unfortunately it was the last one in that size.  She said something about not sure if she had time to run to another store - she and her family was leaving early the next morning for vacation and as she was finalizing the packing she realized she missed getting herself some new shoes.  As you can guess, I felt bad, I could see she was stressed - I know it's a lot of work to plan a family vacation - especially with young children.  And, I know I had a way to ease just a little of that stress.  I handed her the box - she looked at me in surprise.  I said that I didn't need them for a special date and had plenty of time to check out another store.  I actually saw her body relax a little - I was showing her Mercy at a time when she had not expected it.

Mercy is one of those things we all think we know and understand; and yet we all know we truly do not know exactly what it is or how to define it.  There are many books written on it - in fact I'm reading one right now.

So, just what is Mercy?  According to the author I am reading, he defines Mercy as love - love when we respond to another one's suffering.  I found this fascinating -- because I don't think everyone who needs Mercy realize they are suffering.  We have just learned to live with it - most often describing it as "stress" - and yet, it changes us - it effects our relationship with other people, and it effects our relationship with the Father.

As I thought of Mercy - I thought about times I have received Mercy and times I have given Mercy.  The one that comes to mind first; was when I went to confession a few years ago (yes, I know we receive Mercy every time we celebrate the sacrament of Penance,)  well, I confessed how mad I was with someone who did not complete their job, which ended up falling on me.  I was expecting my penance to be to pray 10 Hail Marys  - or something like that.  But instead - Father told me I was to pray for that person;  which I did reluctantly at first.  As time when on, my heart soften, I began to realize she had had a lot hit her plate all at one time and simply was not able to complete the thing she committed to - and she was sad that this had happened.  She was suffering - and I was holding my mercy from her.  This taught me a great lesson. 

Mercy does not cost anything - the Father gives it to us freely and we are to give it to others just as freely -- and it has great value to the person who is receiving it - and as a side bonus - it is great for us too.